Technotronic

Technotronic is a studio-based house music project from Belgium, formed by Jo Bogaert (a.k.a. Thomas De Quincey) in 1988. Together with Ya Kid K (born Manuela Kamosi, 1973, Zaire), he produced the hit single Pump Up the Jam which was originally intended as an instrumental. An image for the act was put together utilizing Zairian-born fashion model Felly (allegedly without her permission) as its album and single cover art and “singer” in the music video. Ya Kid K went on to provide vocals on several other Technotronic tracks.

Technotronic was a Belgian studio-based music project formed in 1988 by Jo Bogaert, who originally gained notoriety in the early 1980s as part of a cover band and as a solo artist under various New Beat projects, including The Acts of Madmen and Nux Nemo. Together with vocalist Ya Kid K, he produced the hit single, "Pump Up the Jam", which was originally an instrumental. An image for the act was later put together, utilizing Congolese-born fashion model Felly Kilingi as its album/single cover art, and supposed singer in the music video.

MC Eric and Ya Kid K. reunited and have toured parts of Europe, South America and Australia, as a part of commemorating Technotronic's 20th anniversary, performing their classic hits as well as new material. MC Eric also tours as a DJ.
Of the many studio-based dance music projects which dominated the charts during the early '90s, few were so popular, or such an improbable success story, as Technotronic.
Emerging from Belgium -- never a musical hotbed in the first place -- the multicultural group helped push the deep bass grooves and insistent beats of house music out of the club scene and into the pop mainstream; ironically, they did so largely by hiding behind the photogenic visage of an African-born fashion model who, it was later revealed, did not even perform on their records. In reality, Technotronic was the brainchild of Jo Bogaert (real name Thomas de Quincy), an American-born philosophy teacher who relocated to Belgium in the late '80s in the hopes of mounting a career as a record producer.
Bogaert's intent was to fuse house with hip hop, and towards that aim he sent demos of his work to a variety of rappers, including the Welsh-born MC Eric and a Zairean-born teenager named Ya Kid K (nee Manuela Kamosi), at the time a member of the Belgian rap group Fresh Beat Productions. Technotronic's first single, 1989's "Pump Up the Jam," was a smash hit across Europe and eventually the U.S. While the record featured the raps of Ya Kid K, she was nowhere to be seen in the accompanying video, which instead featured Zairean-born fashion model Felly lip-synching the lyrics; little did fans realize that not only was Felly nowhere near the studio at the time the single was recorded, in truth she did not even speak a word of English. She was also featured on the cover of Technotronic's debut LP, Pump Up the Jam: The Album, further blurring the lines between truth and fiction; in the end, Bogaert admitted that Felly's services had been engaged purely to establish the group with "an image."
When Technotronic toured in support of the 1990 hit "Get Up! (Before the Night Is Over)," Ya Kid K and MC Eric were alone behind the microphone, and Ya Kid K was also rightfully featured in the song's video. The LP Trip On This: The Remixes soon followed, and in 1992 Ya Kid K went solo, albeit with Bogaert still in the producer's seat; her debut album, One World Nation, scored with the hit "Move This," originally a Technotronic cut released as a single after finding success in a cosmetics commercial. The 1995 Technotronic comeback attempt Recall was not a success.

80's Hits

Pump up the Jam

Album:

Pump Up The Jam: The Album
(1990)

Song Details:

It reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1990. The song was later certified triple platinum. In 2005, it was remixed by internationally renowned DJ-producer D.O.N.S., who took it to number one on the British Dance Chart.

Lyrics:

Pump up the jam
Pump it up
While you feet are stompin'
And the jam is pumpin'
Look at here the crowd is jumpin'
Pump it up a little more
Get the party going on the dance floor
Seek us that's where the party's at
And you'll find out if you're too bad

I don't want a place to stay
Get your body on the floor tonight
Make my day
I don't want a place to stay
Get your body on the floor tonight
Make my day

Make my day (x4)
Yo!

Yo!
Pump up the jam, pump it up
A pump it up yo pump it
Pump up the jam, pump it up
A pump it up yo pump it
Pump up the jam, pump it pump it pump it, yo !

You need Flash player 8+ and JavaScript enabled to view this video.

90's Hits

Get Up

Album:

Pump Up The Jam: The Album
(1990)

Song Details:

"Get up! (Before the Night Is Over)" is a 1989 song recorded by Belgian dance-pop and electronica act Technotronic, featuring Ya Kid K. It was the second single from band's debut album Pump Up the Jam: The Album on which it features as second track, and was released in 1990.

Lyrics:

Get up on your feet
Before the night is through for you want miss
Get down to the beat
Pump it, stomp it, jam, trip on this!
Get the party started
Get it on, get a move on, kids
Rock to the beat
Pump it, stomp it, jam, trip on this!
Get up, get up, get busy do it
Get up and move that body
Get up people now get down to it before the night is over
Get up, get up, get busy do it
I wanna see you party
Get up people now get down to it before the night is over
Get down
Get up
Get down
Get up
One, two,
I'll party you
Three, four,
So get your butt on the floor
Five, six,
Know you dig the mix
Seven, eight
Let it shake
Get down
We got to take a stand
Now that we're in demand
Party all night, cut the fight
Do what's right and you just might
Win a battle you never fought
Just by checkin' this record you bought
Over and on and on again
Get with it and do that thing
Get up, get up, get busy do it
Get up and move that body
Get up people now get down to it before the night is over
Get up, get up, get busy do it
I wanna see you party
Get up people now get down to it before the night is over

Lyrics:

Yo Come On Move This
Shake That Body
Shake That Body
People dont you know, dont you know
its about time
cant you hear the jam is pumpin
while you taste the piece of mine
many different flavours
and the bass is strong
get into the hot stuff
let me pour a little on
Baby let me show you how to do dis
you ve gotta move this
youre doing fine
theres nothing to it
you gotta move this
come on and move this
shake that body for
People dont you know....
Can you feel the mellow crawling fast
drum oh baby
rhythms blast
pump it pump it pump it up
bet you cant make this once stop
youve gotta move this
youve gotta move this
shake that body ah
shake that body cool
People dont...
Pump It taken
Fingers snappin
hands club and Mamas Rappin
Talkin about cold loughin
shut up and you the one
use what you got show me
your on the floor so let me see
dont say nothing less i saw
and remember i like it raw
Baby let me show

You need Flash player 8+ and JavaScript enabled to view this video.

Pump Up the Jam

Album:

Pump Up The Jam: The Album
(1990)

Song Details:

It reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1990. The song was later certified triple platinum. In 2005, it was remixed by internationally renowned DJ-producer D.O.N.S., who took it to number one on the British Dance Chart.

Lyrics:

Pump up the jam
Pump it up
While you feet are stompin'
And the jam is pumpin'
Look at here the crowd is jumpin'
Pump it up a little more
Get the party going on the dance floor
Seek us that's where the party's at
And you'll find out if you're too bad

I don't want a place to stay
Get your body on the floor tonight
Make my day
I don't want a place to stay
Get your body on the floor tonight
Make my day

Make my day (x4)
Yo!

Yo!
Pump up the jam, pump it up
A pump it up yo pump it
Pump up the jam, pump it up
A pump it up yo pump it
Pump up the jam, pump it pump it pump it, yo !